Brian Kelly started his weekly game press conferences today with 45 minutes of discussing Temple, the week one depth chart, and the state of the Irish heading into Saturday afternoon.

You can catch the entire press conference below, but let’s pull out the highlighter and cover some of the interesting stuff:

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It seems as if Kona Schwenke looking good on UND.com practice report videos wasn’t just clever editing. The senior defensive lineman should turn into a versatile, important piece of the defensive front, especially with the injury to Tony Springmann.

From the sounds of it, Schwenke will be more than just Louis Nix’s back-up at nose guard.

“I think right now Kona has some flexibility where he could play some four and five technique for us,” Kelly said. “So I think you’ve got some flexibility. We think Tyler Stockton can come in and get some plays for us. You could obviously put that math together and figure that third rotation could be Tyler Stockton with Kona playing a little bit, as well.”

More to that point, Kelly singled out Schwenke’s work over the summer as some of the most impressive on the team. It comes at a good time as well, with Schwenke able to spell Nix in the middle but quick enough to play out on the edge of the front.

“I think defensively Kona Schwenke has been a different player in the spring than he is right now,” Kelly said. “He’s going to play a lot of football. He could play for a lot of teams and make an impact.”

It might feel like crying over spilt milk right now, but Irish fans can think back to the Purdue game two seasons ago when Schwenke was forced into the game to take limited reps because of the lack of depth up front when Stephon Tuitt was suspended. If it were up to Kelly, Schwenke would’ve sat out that season, saving a year of eligibility, which would look pretty good with Nix all but guaranteed to leave school after he graduates and head into the NFL Draft.

Still, this should be a big year for Schwenke, who still looks like a great developmental find for this staff, who plucked a 230-pound Hawaiian out of obscurity and turned him into a defensive tackle that would’ve started on just about every team but the last few.

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The opening game each season comes with some surprises, especially when opponents are transitioning coaching staffs. That’s certainly the case for Temple, where head coach Matt Rhule came from the NFL and defensive coordinator Phil Snow came from Eastern Michigan.

Kelly talked about that challenge and how his team prepped for the unexpected.

“I think I know more about Eastern Michigan’s defense than I do anybody else,” Kelly said. “Coach Snow, who’s their defensive coordinator, was at Eastern Michigan last year, and I found myself talking in terms of what Eastern Michigan was doing, and clearly obviously that’s not their talent pool. They’ve got Temple players.

“So there’s that unknown… Obviously with a new quarterback, a new offensive coordinator who comes from Tennessee Chattanooga, there’s so many different variables that go into the opener first of all. Now add a new staff, a new head coach. So we have to be on guard, and from our standpoint we’ve got to take care of what we do.”

In his latest post at the Philadelphia Inquirer, John Mitchell mentioned that the Temple offense should look an awful lot like the New York Giants attack if things are working properly. They’re shy of Eli Manning, Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks, but it’s just another part of the difficulty that comes with scouting an opponent with transition in the coaching ranks.

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More than a few people wonder about the status of the relationship between head coach and starting quarterback. It hasn’t always been duckies and bunnies between Kelly and Tommy Rees, but it sure sounds like the head coach is in the quarterback’s corner when it comes to unequivocally stating that the offense is going to be more productive this year than last.

“You know, I mean, I’ve been doing it a long time,” Kelly said. “I mean, I don’t throw bouquets out unless I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I know. Tommy Rees is going to help us score more points than we did last year, and our offensive line and our running backs and our balance at the wide receiver position is going to allow us. He’s making good decisions. He’s showing some escapability.”

While most people seem to subscribe to the mantra of “As Tommy Rees goes, so goes the Irish offense,” Kelly doesn’t quite feel that way. Mostly because of improved personnel that might not be as star-heavy as seasons past, but certainly is the most complete since Kelly arrived in South Bend.

“It’s not just going to be him,” Kelly said. “We can threaten you over the top. We can push the ball over your head. If you want to drop down on us, we’ve got some weapons that can beat you one‑on‑one, and we’ve got a quarterback that can see that and throw the ball to you. We struggled with doing that at times last year. We won’t struggle doing that this year.”

Notre Dame received the commitment of 4-star offensive tackle Aaron Banks on Friday afternoon. Picking the Irish over a national offer list that included Michigan, Tennessee, and local programs USC and UCLA, the 6-foot-7, 335-pound Banks reminded all that even if the Irish only won four games this season, Harry Hiestand is still one of the premier offensive line coaches in the country.

Banks made the commitment from a ceremony at his high school in El Cerrito, California. And when he picked the Irish, he added to Notre Dame’s impressive offensive line haul, joining Dillan Gibbons, Joshua Lugg and Robert Hainsey — a key piece of the puzzle moving forward.

Banks is a consensus 4-star recruit and a Top 200 prospect. He took an official visit to Michigan in November, but has been a long-time target of Hiestand’s, visiting South Bend in September and welcoming Brian Kelly and Hiestand into his home after the USC game.

As a big recruiting weekend gets started at Notre Dame, the annual Echoes Awards will serve as the beginning of an important home stretch for a program without a bowl game. As Kelly still looks to lock in a defensive coordinator, not to mention other staff changes still in the air, Banks takes back some of the lost momentum, a key commitment heading into a holiday dead period before a furious finish leading into the first Wednesday in February.

Banks is No. 18 in the Irish recruiting class. He’s an early-enrollee, ready to hit campus within weeks and compete on the interior of the offensive line during spring ball.

Big week for The Observer. Not just for its advertising revenues, but for the classy gesture that outgoing senior quarterback Malik Zaire made this week.

Thursday’s edition included a letter to the editor from Zaire, who took to the student newspaper not to make headlines around the internet, but rather to thank the university for his experience in South Bend.

While Zaire’s time at Notre Dame is drawing to a close, he will leave as a proud alum. So while he’ll play football next season at another university, Zaire wrote the following in Thursday’s issue:

Dear Notre Dame students and staff,

My life changed for the better the moment I stepped onto the University of Notre Dame’s beautiful campus. The one goal I had set in my mind to achieve was to become a better man, a Notre Dame man. After growing through many trials and triumphs, the thing I’ve learned most from my experience was that if you don’t believe in yourself first, then no one else will. I believed in becoming a better man and succeeding through any circumstance, and I can say that I’ve truly accomplished that. I often refer to the famous quote from the movie “Catch Me If You Can” that was well put by Frank Abagnale:

“Two little mice fell in a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse wouldn’t quit. He struggled so hard that eventually he churned that cream into butter and crawled out.”

I’ve put my heart, soul and passion into the University, the football program, the South Bend community and the Irish community worldwide. I have the unbelievable honor to represent this University to the fullest as a student and soon-to-be alumni. Thank you to the amazing students and staff that I’ve met through the years for helping me grow into the person I’ve always wanted to be. I love the Irish and will always be an Irish alum no matter where I go! I look forward to keeping in touch. Let’s change the world!

Go Irish!

Malik Zaire

Senior
Dec. 7

Zaire is expected to compete for a starting quarterback job next year as a graduate transfer. He’s reportedly taken a visit to Wisconsin and plans to visit North Carolina as well, just two of several programs on the radar as Zaire looks to step in and win a starting Power 5 job.

It’s evaluation season. With college football’s regular season over, the focus now turns to the stay-or-go decision that faces many of college football’s best players. Return for another season? Or head to the NFL?

That’s the big question facing DeShone Kizer. Viewed as a can’t-miss prospect by some earlier in the season, Kizer now awaits feedback from the NFL’s advisory board, who’ll give him either a first-round grade, a second-round grade, or none — essentially serving as a message to return to school.

That feedback is something Kizer’s requested, with Brian Kelly revealing that Kizer is one of four underclassmen requesting a review, joined by Mike McGlinchey, Nyles Morgan and Quenton Nelson.

And while most still think it’s merely a formality before Kizer heads to the NFL, two of the media’s most well-established pundits, ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Todd McShay, are among those who actually think Kizer should stay in school.

There’s really only one guy right now, and he might not even enter the draft. That’s North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky, a fourth-year junior who is in his first season as the starter. Trubisky has thrown 28 touchdown passes to only four interceptions, but he’s still green — with another year of seasoning, he could be the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft. He’s not ready to play right away in the NFL.

I don’t see any other first-rounders in the group. Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, a third-year sophomore, has to go back to school. Clemson’s Deshaun Watson has taken a step back this season. Underclassmen Luke Falkand Patrick Mahomes could use another year in school, and they don’t project as first-rounders.

McShay echoed Kiper’s evaluation of Kizer, stating: “Kizer needs another year.” And if the Irish get that, it means they’ll have a 1-2 depth chart of a third-year starter in Kizer and junior Brandon Wimbush, who saved a year of eligibility in 2016 and has three remaining.

Kizer’s been clear that he hasn’t made up his mind, planning on talking with his family about the decision in the weeks following the season. And with the year-end banquet this weekend with Notre Dame hosting the “Echoes,” that decision might come sooner than later.

Last year, the NFL draft wasn’t kind to the Irish roster. Four key players gave up eligibility to head to the NFL, with Ronnie Stanley going in the Top 10 to the Baltimore Ravens and Will Fuller joining him as a first-round selection after going to the Houston Texans. Even injured, JaylonSmith was taken near the top of the second round by Dallas andC.J. Prosise was a third-round selection of the Seattle Seahawks.

Jack Swarbrick spoke extensively about the state of the Notre Dame football program. Released last Friday and a part of Swarbrick’s weekly podcast, the Irish athletic director covered the laundry list of hot-button issues, including Brian Kelly’s status, the NCAA order to vacate wins that Notre Dame is appealing, and the challenge of winning football games in today’s environment.

The entire 25 minutes are worth a listen, as Swarbrick and Nolan cover just about every question and complaint that’s out there. And in case you don’t have that time, here’s a quick breakdown:

Swarbrick on the 2016 season.

“It was an extremely disappointing year. Every player, every coach, myself, other administrators involved in the program, we all share the same view. There’s no way around that conclusion. It’s not bad breaks, it’s not a play here, a play there. We didn’t do what we need to do. So we do start from that perspective.

“I think there’s a danger in overreacting to any one piece of information that you get in the course of the evaluation of football programs. That begins with, it looks one way from a this-season perspective, but it feels a little different to me from a two-season perspective.”

Swarbrick on the evaluation process:

“I’m looking at the program. Wins and losses are a huge indicia of where the program is, but it’s not the only one. More important to me, frankly, is the experience of our students. My interaction with them and what their interactions with the coaches, and the environment and are we meeting their expectations. Now, we clearly didn’t meet their expectations competitively this year, because they want to win, too. But on many of the other things, the program elements are in good shape.”

On the off-field issues, and the challenges that faced the football team this fall.

“I don’t want to do anything to minimize the disappointments, whether they’re competitive or unacceptable behavior in the last game at USC by one of our players, obviously, which just isn’t acceptable, it isn’t okay. The disciplinary issues we had to deal with at the front of the year, none of those are acceptable, all of those go into the evaluation, but those are the only ones that sort of get the public scrutiny. I’m dealing with the other 120 young men who are for the most part like my co-host James (Onwualu), doing everything right, making every right decision, having a real positive experience. You’ve got to look at it all, not just isolated elements of it.

Discussing the disappointment of the NCAA’s ruling to vacate wins and why the university is appealing:

“If you’d merely expelled the students, you wouldn’t get this penalty. But because you went though an educative process and kept them in school and adjusted credits and made those things, you subjected yourself to this penalty. That seems like a bad message to send, but that’s one that we’re continuing to advocate for down the road.”

On the challenges of winning in today’s college football, as opposed to 30 years ago.

“I think undoubtedly it is harder. Now, people from that era may have a different view. But there are things that make it harder. But it doesn’t make any difference. It’s harder to win basketball games than it was back then. It’s harder to do a number of things.

“We don’t treat any of that as an excuse or a reason to have different goals. I sort of embrace that. Some of those things that you might view as obstacles are ultimately the things that we have to offer young people. It is the eliteness of the institution and the quality of the education. You can’t say it’s an obstacle and then talk about how great it is because it helps you. That’s the way it is. I wouldn’t trade anything for the circumstance we now compete in. I think it is exactly what it should be. We have to do a better job with it, that’s all.”